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Prickly Perceptions--REALTORS & Home Stagers=T E A M!??

In a conversation this week with another Home Stager, we discussed why Realtors are sometimes reluctant to bring in a third party Home Stager. We talked about the possible reasons...and one of the biggest perceptions was a fear that the Home Stager might offend the homeowner with their evaluation.

REALTORS--Do you worry that your local Home Stager will offend the Homeowners?

There is a show on HGTV which has a two-member team visit and critique the seller's home. Personally, I have not especially cared for their style of communicating with the potential client. It is a professional Home Stager's duty to evaluate the home and give their expert advice. However, doing so in a rather abrupt manner is not appealing to many folks. I believe that this particular show does not portray what the majority of professional Home Stagers would consider as an example of proper behavior with a homeowner/seller.

The reality of this TV program: The show is simply an attention-getting twist on helping homeowners become better prepared to sell in today's market.

I think we can all agree that times have changed in the real estate selling game and homeowners need to approach presenting their home in new ways. HGTV provides a wonderful educational service through a variety of programming targeted to help sellers see a different viewpoint. However, educating via humiliation of homeowners is not something I think most staging professionals would do with such insensitive intention. It is disrespectful to the seller, to the Realtor and to the staging profession in general. Regardless, that is the flavor of that particular show. Naturally, I wondered if this type of show influences whether or not a Realtor would feel comfortable having a Home Stager on their team?

Respect is KEY in all relationships, whether it is within your personal or professional dealings. If a Realtor requests that a Home Stager meet and provide a consultation for the listing client, there are several professional reputations at stake. I would hope the Realtor has confidence that a Home Stager is not going to come into a seller's home and treat that client as disrespectful as the HGTV prickly pair treat others. Although this mother-daughter team has great ideas for the homeowners, I wonder if this style of 'providing advice' to the seller is something which might be of concern to Realtors. Is it?

Does this concern keep you from adding the Home Stager to your team?

Do you believe that your sellers would be nervous having a Home Stager evaluate their home?

Home Stagers truly want to assist Realtors and their sellers. Some Realtors 'get it' and once they make the choice to partner with a good Home Stager, they realize it is faster money in the bank for their seller and themselves! We want to be a part of your team and would like to increase your sales figures! Our work will help you sell your listings faster if you allow us! So....what are you waiting for?

What holds you back at times? Have you tried yet? What do you honestly think about the idea? Yay or Nay?

Please share your thoughts about adding the Home Stager to your Team!

Warm Regards,

Kathleen Garvey of Enhanced Interiors & Home Staging, Fort Myers, Florida. Serving: Naples, Estero, Ft. Myers, Cape Coral, Sanibel Island, Punta Gorda, FL. (239) 849-6009

Posted by Kathleen Garvey - Stager Idol - Florida Home Staging in Naples Ft. Myers on 03/13/2008 02:51 PM

Comments (18)

perceptions, team, realtors, homeowners, selling ideas

Post is included in group: Stage It Forward...

18 Comments on Prickly Perceptions--REALTORS & Home Stagers=T E A M!??

MAR

2008

Kathleen: I suggest you post this to the Realtors Group for response from them! Julie

Kathleen I won't even watch that show - there is abrupt then there is rude. I love people who are "to the point" but if anyone spoke to me like they do their clients they would leave my vicinity by invitation or force. I think the show does as much to damage perspective of stagers as "Flip" or any of those other outlandishly exaggerated real estate investment shows. Remember Sam Leccima the alleged fraud? I'm sure as a professional stager with values and ethics you deliver to your clients it steams your buns just a bit. I am the same when I see the outright "bogusness" of those investor shows (and it's why I quit sponsoring them). But what do I know, I'm just a seasoned real estate investor and lender ;) Keep up the great work!

Hi Julia - THANKS! I thought I had added it and I somehow missed it! Good Catch!! : ) Regards-Kathleen G

Hi Ken - Yes, for some reason, that show is really one which is upsetting to watch. I have wondered for some time now about the Realtors' perspective...and the Homeowners too! People are very sensitive about having their decor and living space scrutinized in the first place...why antagonize? No professional Home Stager I know would consider being so insensitive...and I hope that Realtors would not consider this show as any type of standard behaviour for Home Stagers. Thanks for commenting! Regards-Kathleen G

Hi Kathleen-

Several homeowners that have contacted me directly for Staging Consults actually commented that they hoped I would not be like the TV stagers and insult their decor with remarks like "Whose idea was this?". I quickly put them at ease, but I wonder how many homeowners are reluctant to hire us because of that bad TV example.

Kathy

Hi Kathy R! I too have heard a few people comment about that particular show. You know how sensitive people feel about their homes...and shows like this DO make homeowners wonder if the local Home Stager is going to behave like one of these two ladies!

I really want to hear from the Realtors.....

All insight would be helpful from them! I want to know why nearly every Home Stager is not being contacted by the 500+ Realtors in their towns (or surrounding areas)! It is worth the investment (for the Homeowner) to have a Stager on the Team! We can HELP! Thanks Kathy! Regards-Kathleen G

Kathleen - Great post. As any professional home stager can tell you (key word here is "professional"), we walk a very fine line with the sellers in an occupied home. It can be difficult to make certain request but... as I always tell them, if I were to put my own home on the market, you can be assured that I would have to stage it first.

Again, great post, Kathleen.

Kathy

Hello Kathy N! Great comments! We DO walk a very thin line with the sellers. A professional Home Stager knows that making requests from the homeowner is a delicate task. I would not want any Realtors to hold back from having a Stager as part of their Team because of concern in this area. Home Staging is a part of selling homes. Though it is slowly growing in many areas, I feel that Realtors need to know that we are not like those two people in that show. Most Realtors are far better off to not be a 'jack-of-all-trades, master of none'. Find a Good Home Stager in your area and don't look back!

Thanks! Regards-Kathleen G

Kathleen, I have to agree with you. I feel educating your client with useful information is more productive.

MAR

2008

Thanks Patty! Yes, there are better ways to communicate with clients-That is for sure!

Now....I see that the Realtors have stayed away from this topic...perhaps it is MORE prickly than I originally anticipated!? Regards-Kathleen G

Yes, that show is over-the-top. I am a Realtor, and although I believe I have good taste, I'm not a home stager. So I call in the expert. Every home stager I have worked with has been tactful and kind. It's a matter of trust.

Kathleen. I can kind of see it from the Realtors point of view- Say I'm a Realtor watching HGTV and I see the Freemans- they are lets just say NOT PROFESSIONAL! Then as a Realtor would I want to call someone knowing it could turn out like the Freeman's. Oftentimes, the seller is a referral from a friend or family member that the Realtor knows. I wouldn't want someone to come in represent me and they act like the Freemans....

During our office presentations- I always tell the Realtor - that is not staging and doesn't represent the hundreds of professional stagers that I know!

Once again-- Education is the Key to unlock the DOOR for stagers!

Marci, you are oh so right. While the barrage of TV shows have helped market our industry, it has also brought with it the fact that we have to educate consumers that it's kinda like what you see, but not exactly. We do not work for free, like seen on all of the shows. I have not seen a show yet that among their line item of expenses shows "Services". We are not rude to people for entertainment value, In fact quite the opposite. Any successful Home Staging business clearly understands that we are first and foremost in the people business. Establishing and maintaining professionalism and a personnel connection with the client is ultimately what dictates the degree in which we will succeed. We do not find junk to use in our staging's. What we do is professionally make a home more marketable. That's where value is created, not in finding a hand full of sticks in the yard to put into a vase, or throwing a $150 Futon in a $700K home and call it a sofa. We act appropriately to increase the marketability of our clients homes. It might seems strange to us Stagers, but these are the kinds of perceptions that are out there that we have to educate about.

Hey Kathleen! I am a Realtor servicing areas in South Jersey, so I thought I would chime in.

My honest opinion is that while that may be a "factor", I do not believe it is neither the biggest reason nor the only reason why some agents choose not to use a stager for at least an evaluation.

1^st and foremost, many Realtors do not have a solid background in sales with good training. So I think many don't recognize the value in such a service. You also have an intimidation factor there. Many agents are in such a rush to secure the listing that they don't want to create any friction. I hear it all the time! I have even sat in with other agents during their presentations and they are far different from my own.

Hi Angela! Thanks for commenting. I am happy to hear that you are supportive of hiring a professional when you see that it is warranted. There are definitely lots of Realtors with good taste...and many who do not know the difference.

Shows such as this particular one are really distasteful and unnecessary IMHO. It paints a disrespectful picture regarding a professional evaluation by a Home Staging/Decor expert. I do believe it is important for Realtors to seek out a stager whose work they respect and bring them along as part of the team. WHy more Realtors do not try this angle is really baffling. Regards-Kathleen G

Hey Marci! You even know their names....lol. I actually downloaded their photos but decided I didn't want to promote them more than I already had! You highlight the exact point that this blog focuses on: As a Realtor, can I TRUST that the stager is going to be professional and not act like those prickly gals from that TV show??

In REAL LIFE, Home Stagers do not behave this way. We RESPECT the Realtors and understand the effort it takes to get the listing in the first place...Home Stagers should be a part of the second step...Preparing the home to SELL.

I hope that Realtors understand that those ladies are NOT representative of the Staging Industry. You are smart to bring this point up in your presentations Marci! Good!! (However, I would hope that Realtors realize we would never be so rude to their listings...honest!) Regards-Kathleen G

Hello Gary-- Boy oh boy....We do not work for FREE. What a statement. You are exactly correct in that those shows do not list the labor charges etc... I do feel frustrated when people do not understand the kind of VALUE the Home Stager brings to the seller. If the sale price is going to be dropped by $15k-$25k, why would the Realtor not consider having the seller get their home staged for a FRACTION of that price drop? Because of some over-the-top twisted show with rude-style cast members?? I know there are many Realtors out there who have seen the magic of staging at work! AND, I am willing to bet that the staging was worth every penny invested and then some!!$$$

As far as Entertainment value...well, I agree with you that what we provide is most appreciated, and should not be feared. We too are in the people business. We want to help these people who are really having a tough time in this real estate market. Sellers and Realtors alike! Home Stagers want the referrals...we want the other agents in your office to think of us as an important part of a team! There is no reason to believe that a Stager would treat the sellers as these two ladies do...it is just bad karma!

The perceptions...yes, there seem to be a few which need to be dispelled. Any stager who would bring in junk to a $750k-plus listing is not one who is a professional. The shows also portray crafting junk from junk too! It takes a good artistic eye to do so! A professional stager knows the difference.

Once again....REALTORS, please look at the Home Stager's portfolio and ASK if the photos are of their own work. Usually there is a particular style one can notice when viewing the Before and After photos. (Regardless of the price-point of the home). If you see shabby accessories etc...in a stagers portfolio, move on and call another. It is that easy. Go out and call one today...get to know one in your area if you have not found a good Home Stager already! A professional Home Stager will create more money in the bank for the seller and for the Realtor. Hands down!! (Sans the rude demeanor!)

Good stagers spend thousands and thousands of dollars on their inventory. How many Realtors with stager credits have done that? Very few....there is a HUGE difference between moving a piece of furniture around from here to there, de-cluttering etc....and professional Home Staging.

Do not be afraid of the Stager....Professional Home Stagers are nothing like those prickly pair on TV!! Thanks Gary! Good points! Regards-Kathleen G

Hey John! Thanks for chiming in! : ) You bring up a good point...EDUCATION of the Realtors--which is one that the Stagers often spend more time working on than anything it seems!

Why do most people become Realtors? To make MONEY. How do you make money in the Real Estate (Realtor Business) Market? You make money when a property SELLS. How do you sell faster and for more money in this current selling environment? Get a Home Stager involved with your LISTINGS.

Have a professional Home Stger involved with your sellers....it makes the world of difference! Time is money lost in this market...Home Stagers are a fantastic tool to get those listings moving and shooting your whole office sales records higher! Show what your area can do in sales...in a positive light! It works! Even if the Realtors' sales skills are less than stellar, it is OK. The good Home stager will have the skills to make the weakest Realtor look great in the end! We are professionals and want to help the homeowners...not intimidate or hurt their feelings. It is a sensitive job at times for us and we would never want to create friction and jeopardize the listing for you Realtors!

Having a professional Home Stager involved on your Real Estate Team is not rocket science. It is SMART MARKETING. Everyone watches the HGTV shows....and loves them. Who doesn't love a good Before and After show? A Realtor may not have the selling skills....however, there is no reason to not consider meeting with a Home Stager to assist you with your sellers. Our work essentially helps the move the sales of the homes...regardless of the Realtors' skills. The more successful Realtors already know this secret and know how to close that sale fast!

Here is an IDEA....If the house looks good.....the Realtor looks good!! How about that? WHy does the Realtor look good? Because we know that staged home will sell faster. Work with a Homes Stager. No need for intimidation...we do not bite. We are here to make you look good, the homeowner look good and to assist in having that home look good in the photos. What happens then? Oh ya....the homes usually sell pretty fast! You get paid faster and the Homeowner thinks you walk on water! Thanks again John! Regards-Kathleen G

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